Life Game In Other World
Chapter 556: 5.43 A.M. (Extra-long Chapter, please vote monthly)

Chapter 556: Chapter 556: 5.43 A.M. (Extra-long Chapter, please vote monthly)

"Aren’t you afraid?"

He Ao turned his head, looking at Thorne’s subordinate who was driving next to him.

"Huh?"

At this moment, the subordinate was firmly grasping the steering wheel, nervously looking forward. He Ao’s greeting made him jolt, causing the slowly moving vehicle to drift to the side.

However, he immediately straightened the wheel, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He stared dead ahead at the road, not looking at He Ao, "What did you say? I don’t understand."

"What I mean is, take a look at the laser cannon behind us—if you open the door now, you might still have a chance to live."

He Ao glanced at the rearview mirror, speaking in a calm tone.

"Do it!"

The moment He Ao uttered these words, the driver hadn’t reacted yet when the two subordinates in the backseat of Thorne instantly let out a loud shout, surging forward, lunging at He Ao in an attempt to restrain him.

At that time, the driver also nervously hit the autopilot button, moving sideways to pounce on He Ao.

It seemed that everyone in this car was Thorne’s absolute loyalist, the kind that would die for him.

The laser cannon in the back quickly completed its auto-aim.

Thorne had checked and test-fired the laser cannon, and only after being confident of its reliability had he dared to purchase it.

At such a close distance, the upgraded G-04 over-frequency strike was powerful enough to harm a C-level.

He Ao shrugged his shoulders, his body suddenly tremored, shaking off the people surrounding him.

Then he put his right hand on the handle of the jeep’s door, and with a sudden force, the hard, smooth steel door crinkled, bulged, and curled like a piece of paper.

Accompanying this process was a sudden dull thud—the steel door was forcefully pushed open without any resistance; the alloy lock’s bolt was broken.

And then He Ao leaped out.

All this happened in the blink of an eye. The few subordinates of Thorne who had tried to restrain He Ao had just been thrown off and hadn’t recovered when He Ao had already successfully jumped out of the vehicle.

And at that moment, the laser cannon from behind burst out a dazzling brilliance, instantly piercing through the SUV.

With the hot waves of molten heat sweeping around, He Ao had already appeared next to the rear SUV at the moment the dazzling laser cannon burst.

The subordinate sitting in the passenger seat quickly drew his gun, only to be penetrated instantly by a sharp dagger through his throat.

He Ao looked at the backseat of the SUV—Thorne, who should have been sitting there, was nowhere to be seen.

It appeared that just now, by taking advantage of his loyal subordinates’ engagement with He Ao and the cover fire from the laser cannon, Thorne had decisively jumped out and fled.

From the beginning, he had no intention of counter-killing He Ao but rather wanted to severely injure He Ao to create an opportunity for his own escape.

He Ao pulled out the dagger, looking at the subordinate who had sat in the backseat with Thorne, fresh blood running down the sharp blade.

"Don’t kill me!"

The subordinate in the backseat immediately raised his hands, pointing in the direction behind He Ao, "Thorne went that way!"

He Ao turned his head, activating Super Memory to glance in that direction, scanning the surrounding details, but he did not see any traces of Thorne’s movements.

At this time, the subordinate who had just trembled to give directions, and the driver who had been driving, simultaneously raised their guns, aiming at the back of He Ao’s head.

Their fingers were on the triggers.

The next second, the sharp dagger pierced through flesh and neck; bright red blood spurted like a fountain, staining the cold roof of the SUV.

"You’re very loyal."

Now appearing on the left side of the SUV, He Ao calmly pulled out the dagger; the sharp blade spun a beautiful arc in the twilight and then a second later, plunged into the neck of the driver, who hadn’t had the chance to adjust his position.

Thump, thump—

The sound of bullets hitting the metal shell of the SUV echoed in the surroundings.

In the widened eyes of the driver, the subordinates sitting in the two SUVs behind had already poked their heads out, taking aim at He Ao and firing.

He Ao activated Super Memory, casting his gaze around, and found Thorne’s traces in the opposite direction to the one previously indicated.

Thorne was very cautious, his footsteps light, leaving almost no noticeable traces.

But in the eyes of Super Memory, these traces were starkly clear.

The subordinates from the rear SUV had already run down, using the cover of the SUVs to launch an attack on He Ao.

He Ao’s gaze shifted from Thorne’s footprints back to these subordinates. The next second, his figure vanished from the spot.

Thud—

Accompanying the sounds of bodies hitting the ground, the dense gunfire like the dwindling rain after a summer’s shower, slowly returned to silence.

The twilight shone on the flowing blood, casting a faint, bronze-gold luminescence.

The slender and upright figure stepped over the spreading pool of blood and walked deeper into the street.

...

Boom—

"Damn it,"

The mechanic shop clerk sitting behind the counter at the store entrance, playing a portable game console, jumped as the door suddenly burst open, causing his game character to die.

He stood up angrily, ready to curse at the intruder’s family, when he saw a pitch-black gun barrel aimed at his forehead.

"Sir, would you like to buy something? Do you need any mechanical modifications?"

"The bracelet, give it to me, quickly,"

Thorne coldly glanced at the clerk and said swiftly.

"Okay."

The clerk hastily took off his own bracelet and handed it over to Thorne.

"Unlock it."

Thorne glanced at the powered-off bracelet.

"Alright, alright,"

The clerk, face full of forced smiles, quickly unlocked the bracelet and handed it back to Thorne.

Receiving the bracelet, Thorne looked behind him; he was standing at the entrance of the first shop on the street.

And this clerk was the first person he had seen upon entering the street.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the outside street, the entire street was very quiet.

At this time, watching Thorne look back outside, the clerk quietly moved his hand towards under the counter, where a black handgun was stashed.

In the West District, the mechanic shops often had gang affiliations, or were even gang-owned enterprises themselves.

Thorne, looking back at the street, then turned his head and glanced at the clerk before pulling the trigger.

He didn’t look at the clerk again after firing, pocketed the gun and, taking the bracelet, walked out the door.

The clerk didn’t manage to reach the gun under the counter; his body leaned against the wall behind him and slowly slid down, his cheeks covered in blood.

Leaving the shop, Thorne dashed into the street, running wildly.

While running, he held the unlocked bracelet, immediately opened the dialing interface, and quickly entered a phone number as he moved.

"Mr. Thorne, who would you like to contact?"

Just then, a cold query suddenly sounded in Thorne’s ear.

Thorne only felt a figure appear behind him with a speed he couldn’t catch, a cold gaze moving from above his right shoulder, looking at the bracelet in his hand.

The figure was so close that if they wanted, they could easily plunge a dagger into his back.

Thorne didn’t know why the person didn’t kill him, but without hesitation, he somersaulted forward, then turned and fired at the figure.

His aim was quite good, the shot aimed for the target’s eyes.

Bang—

With a muted clink under the dim light, the flying bullet was deflected by the chill blade of a dagger.

Then the blade was slowly moved away, revealing the equally cold gaze behind it.

"Jess, you promised to let me go."

Thorne stepped back two paces, his gaze darting around, trying to grab a hostage, but found the few remaining pedestrians had scattered and fled due to the sound of the gunshot, no longer within his easy reach.

"You’re no longer in the Zhalote region now,"

He Ao watched his face calmly, "And wasn’t it you who just attacked me?"

"Jess, we can negotiate anything, I can give you money, people, whatever you want."

Thorne watched He Ao, cautiously backing away.

Meanwhile, his fingers gripping the bracelet pressed the call button.

"It seems you’ve hidden some information?"

The cold dagger slid through the gaps between his fingers, grazing the edge just above the palm holding the bracelet.

Feeling the chill of the blade, Thorne’s grip loosened instinctively, retracting his hand, the bracelet falling to the ground.

"Jess, don’t push people too far."

Feeling the blade approach, Thorne rolled back and quickly created distance between himself and He Ao, watching him angrily.

He had realized that He Ao seemed to be toying with him.

The laser cannon had not injured He Ao, although he had not expected the weapon bought from He Ao to hurt him in the first place.

But his subordinates had not bought him enough time to escape either, and the guess that He Ao’s back injury would hinder his movements seemed misguided—as the absolute gap in strength shattered all his plans.

By now, he understood that from beginning to end, he had been led by He Ao.

Relying solely on his own power, it was impossible to escape from He Ao’s grasp.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly raised his jaw and his upper and lower incisors knocked together three times.

A twisted and terrifying blue glow burst forth from his mouth, then, like a tube inserted into flesh, it pierced Thorne’s skin and entered his body.

"Ah!!!"

Thorne’s body swelled continuously, his flesh bulging with thick, mechanical, hose-like tubes writhing beneath his skin, inflating his body like a balloon and tearing through his seemingly expensive clothing.

Hidden in his mouth?

He Ao watched Thorne’s rapidly expanding body, which must have been Thorne’s Transcendent item meant for self-protection.

It seemed that Thorne hadn’t obtained the Gene Potion from the Mysterious Person, but he had a Transcendent item with an effect similar to the Gene Potion.

This Transcendent item appeared to have some ability to temporarily enhance Thorne’s physical qualities.

He Ao mobilized his Divine Sense to observe Thorne, whose originally somewhat weak energy swelled rapidly with the activation of this Transcendent item, surpassing the threshold of D-level and stepping into the threshold of C-level.

However, the price required by this Transcendent item seemed enormous; otherwise, Thorne would have used this item when Heish ’invited’ him.

Even with a slight easing of the situation, seeing a glint of hope, Thorne wouldn’t have activated this Transcendent item.

"Jess, look, you’re not the only one who possesses such great power."

The surging power filled Thorne with unprecedented confidence. This was his first contact with C-level power, which intoxicated him like the most beautiful poppy.

Compared to this power, his former self was as insignificant as an ant.

Now he somewhat understood why He Ao had not simply killed him just now.

Because he wasn’t worthy.

His own strength was too weak, so weak that He Ao didn’t even deem him an enemy worth paying attention to.

But now it was different.

Along with this power came courage and the desire to kill.

He now gazed at He Ao as if looking at a chunk of rich, fat meat, whispers from the depths of his Soul echoing in his ears, telling him to kill the enemy before him, plunder his flesh and blood, and stuff parts of the enemy’s body into his own.

He Ao watched Thorne at this moment, watching as the protrusions like energy pipelines throbbed beneath Thorne’s skin.

Watching his body swell nearly three times its original size.

The specifications of this body had hardly changed; the entire body seemed made up of stacked flesh, each inch pulsing as though it had its own consciousness, yearning to devour other flesh.

And this madness had clearly infected Thorne’s consciousness, compelling the usually cautious Intermediary to emit an unusual, greedy desire for slaughter.

He watched He Ao, cracking a smile, revealing huge, beast-like teeth covered in thick saliva.

"Jess, you seem very confident that you can defeat me?"

He Ao could have attacked during the activation of the Transcendent item, but he had not, instead letting Thorne’s body swell and complete the enhancement.

Although Thorne was confident he could have dodged an attack from He Ao back then, he felt contempt in He Ao’s attitude.

He sneered at He Ao, a mechanical tremor in his voice, "You will pay for your arrogance."

"You must be very happy now,"

He Ao watched Thorne calmly, observing the blood-flesh giant whose Shadow had nearly reached his feet, "like a drowning man seeing a straw, a person in the Abyss seeing a crack of light, you found hope in desperation."

He slowly raised the dagger in his hand as the last hint of sunset was swallowed by the city’s edge, and the dim twilight gradually fell.

Streetlights lit up slowly, one after another.

"You know," He Ao looked at Thorne with a smile, "Tiny once had hope too."

He took a step forward, walking through the dim light, advancing step by step.

Thorne watched the frail man, watched his smiling face and subconsciously took a step back, his massive, mountainside-like body trembling.

The power had not brought him true courage, as standing before him seemed not a thin human but a demon returned from hell.

The twisted, mad Soul crowded beneath the frail, mild Husk.

"You know,"

He Ao raised his head, gazing at the giant before him with a calm tone, as if recounting someone else’s story, "When I arrived at the hospital, the Doctor told me that Tiny didn’t have to die.

"Three bullets hit her body, one in the lung, one in the shoulder, one in the abdomen—they were all non-lethal spots. With timely treatment, she could have survived."

"What do you want to say?"

Thorne looked down at He Ao’s frail body and took another step back.

The light above his head shortened his shadow.

The dim radiance cast onto He Ao, pulling two slender shadows behind him, like two towering ghosts.

He Ao lifted his hand and glanced at the time on his bracelet, 5:43.

Then he raised his head and looked at Thorne,

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Thorne’s brows were tightly knotted, and the murmurs that had been flowing in his mind seemed to cease at that moment, squeezed out by the terrifying madness of the man before him.

"The sound of the ambulance."

He Ao’s tone remained steadily calm.

His gaze lingered on the surrounding streets and the dim lights, as if piercing through these lights, through the layers of time and space, back to that evening four years ago, back to the noisy venue.

The gun-wielding rogue stood in the center of the venue, laughing crazily, with the constant roar of gunfire and the harrowing screams of people mingled together.

The wail of an ambulance came from outside the window.

The clock on the wall froze at 5:43 p.m.

The woman behind the lectern struggled from the pool of blood, crawling toward the doorway.

At that moment, she might have been full of hope.

That hope lasted until the gunman in the center of the venue looked at her again.

If it had indeed been a deranged gunman, she might have had a chance to survive.

But there are no what-ifs in this world.

The gunman wasn’t insane; he was an assassin with a clear target.

The howling bullet hit her in the back of the head, and the rain-like gunfire shattered her body, extinguishing her vitality.

At the moment that the ambulance arrived, when she thought she was about to be rescued.

When she thought she could go home.

...

"You’re insane."

Thorne stared at the man in front of him, fear stimulating his soul, provoking a final frenzy, and without hesitation, he reached out his hand to grasp He Ao’s body, wanting to tear apart the frail figure.

"Perhaps,"

As scenes within that light slowly shattered, those were the images Jess had seen in the venue’s surveillance.

He Ao turned around, facing the approaching Thorne, took a step forward, dodging Thorne’s attack, "But, are you truly sane?"

The change in positions made the two long shadows behind him merge little by little until they became one.

For a long time after his parents passed away, Jess had already given up his obsession, given up on the mysterious domain, and simply wanted to maintain his last peaceful home, to protect his wife who toiled and worried for him day and night.

What he sought was just an ordinary and mundane life, just to live normally.

The sharp dagger sliced through flesh that seemed thick, revealing the light blue throbbing veins within.

The raging flesh giant twisted its body in anger, trying to attack the phantom-like figure, but in the end, only added more and more wounds to itself.

Blood with a blue glow splattered like raindrops into the increasingly dim night sky.

Eventually, the massive body fell like a mountain, sinking into the everlasting silence without a sound.

His eyes wide open, his cheeks mixed with fear, despair, and disbelief, his body cracked open from behind, as if struck by a torrential downpour of bullets.

He Ao put away the dagger, slipped the tooth that glowed with blue radiance into his pocket, then crouched down to pick up the bracelet that had fallen to the ground.

The call on the bracelet remained undialed until the end, still on the dialing screen.

He Ao noted the phone number on it, tossed back the bracelet, and slowly walked into the dim night.

His hand stopped at his chest, holding the pendant smeared with mottled blood.

A taxi stopped at the end of the road ahead, the driver poked his head out, looking towards He Ao approaching from the darkness, "Your booked ride? Where to?"

He Ao casually opened the rear door and got in,

"Wicke Psychiatric Hospital."